Sometimes it is amusing to imagine the reaction of one of these very real and literary Europeans, who combine their routine bad humor with the practice of misanthropy, if they were exposed to the boldness of these street peddlers who abound in Brazil’s metropolises. How long could they stand it without exploding and ending up aggressing? Hard to say… But it would only take a few minutes on foot on any busy avenue for them to notice that here there is no such thing as this embarrassment, this healthy inhibition in front of a stranger, this respect that is manifested by a desire not to bother. No, no… the opposite is true here, and the same irritation would arise in the peddler hit by the disappointment of meeting a passer-by who is not entirely available, entirely open and eager for an untimely approach. Two animals whose relationship can only be summed up in repulsion and confrontation and which God, for the good of the planet, does well to separate.
Tag: behavior
The Extremes to Which Vanity Throws the Spirit
It never ceases to amaze the extremes to which vanity throws the spirit, fostering this despicable need to affirm one’s importance before others. With every manifestation of this kind, a bad feeling rises up in the observer, a feeling that only a saint could convert into pity and mercy. Indeed, moral charity is the most painful of all the virtues, and perhaps only possible for those touched by a higher inspiration.
This Sympathy That Springs Up…
This sympathy that springs up for those whose enemies we despise is inevitable, and it is a sympathy that intensifies the worse they are; a sympathy, therefore, that grows despite the merits of the sympathized. Injustice is deplorable, and greatly diminishes the appearance of faults. When we come across a target of human insidiousness and perfidy, there is no way we can remain impassive and, if not by affinity, by refusing malevolence we have already put ourselves in a position.
In the Face of Every Impossible Achievement…
In the face of every impossible achievement, in the face of the most impressive miracles, there are always those who stop at the insignificance of a detail in order to thwart the colossus, or rather, to stroke their envy and console themselves for their inability to achieve or even understand such an achievement. The man really is a pitiful animal… Only infinite mercy can save him.